Apparatus for taping cores



Oct. 9, 1951 H. FITCH ETAL Q 2,570,929

APPARATUS FOR TAPING CORES Filed Nov. 23, 1949 I -75 Sheets-Sheet l FIG! INVENTORS Remus ATTORNEY Oct. 9, 1951 FITCH ETAL APPARATUS FOR TAPING CORES s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 23, 1949 INVENTORS H. FITCH A 7' TORNEY 1951 H. FITCH ET AL 2,570,929

APPARATUS FOR TAPING CORES Filed Nov. 23, 1949. 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 25 INVENTORS FIGJ H. Fl TCH R. GILL IS A T TORNEV l'atented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED ST ES PATENT orrics APlARA'lUS FOR TAPING COBB! Hugh Fitch, Wllllams'ville, and Randall Gill! Snyder, N. Y., assignors to Western Eleetrl. Company, Incorporated. New York, N. Y a corporation of New York Application November as, 1949, Serial No. 12am This invention relates to apparatus for twins cores, and more particularly to apparatus for applying tape longitudinally oi a cable core. during rotation of the core.

During the manufacture of certain types of cable for use in the telephone industry. it has been determined that the conventional spirally wound tape is not suitable for given types of sheathing material. During the formation of cables of this typfl. a given number of insulated electrical conductors are twisted together and in such instances any one of many commercially known types of taping units may be employed to wrap the tapes spirally on the core. However, these units cannot be employed to apply tape longitudinally to the core while it is rotatin about its axis. I

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is simple in structure and highly eilicient in accomplishing the result of uniformly wrapping tape longitudinally about a longitudinally advancing core during rotation of the core about its axis.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises an apparatus including a wrapping guide disposed coaxially with the core and rotated about the axis of the core at the speed of rotation of the core whereby the'tape is uniformly wrapped longitudinally of the core.

More specifically the invention includes a taping unit supporting a pad of tape for rotation about the core and to support the wrapping guide whereby the taping unit, when rotated in synchronism with the takeup mechanism and the core or cable unit, will rotate at the same speed as the core. A tying unit or strand serving head is positioned adjacent the taplng-headso that the wrapping guide will extend through and have its exit end positioned adJacent the point of application of the strand to the taped-core, thus tying the tape on the core immediately upon leaving the tool. Also supporting units are mounted coaxially of the core adjacent the sup-- ply sides of the taping unit and the strand serving unit to support extra supplies of tape and 4 strand material.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a schematic illustration of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of v the tying unit or strand serving head, a portion thereof being shown in section;

6 Claims. (Cl. 57-8) 2 3 is a front eievational view of the tapin Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the taping unit: p

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the tape guide; Fig. 6 is a view of the entrance end of the wrapping guide; and

fig. '7 is a view of the exit end of the wrapping 8 6. a I Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Fig. 1 which illustrates a core it; which in the present embodiment of the invention is composed of a given number of insulated electrical conductors received individually .or-in selected groups from supplies (not shown) to be twisted together as they are advanced longitudinally through a tape supply unit ii, a taping unit l2, a tying unit or strand serving head il, a strand supply unit I! and on to a takeup reel IS. The takeup reel I6 is driven about its own axis by suitable means (not shown) and is carried in acradle II which is rotated about the axis of the core receiving its driving force from a main shaft l8 through a sprocket and chain connection iii. A distributor arm 20 reciprocated by any suitable means (not shown) distributes the cable upon the reel. In actual structure, the takeup reel and its distributing mechanism are disposed at some distance from the other units to enable the distributing arm to function efllciently. The taping unit 12 is driven at the same speed as the cradle I1 from the main shaft i8 through a sprocket and chain connection 23. 'I'he tying unit or strand serving head i4 must travel at a faster speed than the taping unit or the core to spirally wrap its strand'about the taped core as the longitudinally wrapped tape leaves the wrapping guide 25, the exit end 26 of which extends through and beyond the tying unit H. The driving means for the unit It origi- .nates with the main drive shaft 3 including sprocket and chain connections 21 and 28 and an in Fig. 4, has an upper sprocket 40 mounted thereon, this sprocket being a part of the sprocket and chain connection 23. A disc-like member 42 55 is mounted on the member 32 to assist in supmember 32.

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porting the pad 3! and to also support a series of guide rollers 43, N and II mounted on their individual brackets 41 and adjustable through their mounting screws 42 disposed in arcuate apertures 42 of the brackets. A main guide 50 is supported by an arm having a lateral member 62 pivotally connected at one end at 63 to the disc-like member 42. An arcuate notch I4 is disposed in the other end of the lateral member 82 to receive a bolt 55 fixed to the member 42 and provided with a,wing nut 56 by the aid of which the arm 5| may be removably secured in its guiding position. Loosening of the wing nut will permit thearm 5| with its guide 50 to swing about the pivot 53 when another supply pad 3! from the-supply unit H is to be mounted on the The guide 50 has a head 58 to eliminate the possibilityof the tape escaping from that end of the guide, the opposite portion of the guide being hook-shaped as at 59 to accomplish the same purpose.

The tape wrapping guide is shown in detail in Figs. '5, 6 and 7, this wrapping guide being formed mainly of a strip of metal having its entrance end 62 substantially semi-circular in general contour to readily receive the flat tape from the guide 50 and start its formation longitudinally .about the core ID. The edges 63 of the wrapping guide are bent inwardly as shown in Fig. 6 to maintain the tape uniformly -in the wrapping guide and to receive the side edges of the tape. A bracket 64 conforming to the entrance end 62 of the wrapping guide is rigidly secured thereto and supports a hook-shaped retaining element 65 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) which is connected to a U-shaped retaining element 66 mounted at the entrance and of the member 32 as shown in Fig. 4. From the entrance end of the wrapping guide toward the exit end thereof, the strip of,

material of which the wrapping guide is formed continues to close about the core until the edges of the wrapping guide are overlapped from a point 68 to the exit end 26. Furthermore, the

. inwardly bent portions 63 continue to points 10 Just short of the overlapping point 68. An annular member 1| disposed concentric with the wrapping guide is positioned within the exit end l2 01' the member 32 to support the wrapping guide coaxially with the cable.

The tying unit or strand serving head H includes a stationary tubular member 80 upon which a tubular member BI is rotatably mounted with a cup shaped cover 82 and the supply 83 of cotton strand 84. The strand 84 is directed through an aperture 85 to the taped core ill adjacent the exit end 26 of the wrapping guide 25 which extends through the tubularmember 80. The tubular member 80 and the cup 82 are connected to the sprocket and chain 28 and through the gear unit 30 and sprocket and chain connection 2! to the cam shaft II.

The unit ii is composed of a tubular member OI, through which the core II is free to travel, supported by a bracket 9|. Upon the tube 95 may be placed a given number of pads 38 of tape 39 adjacent the supply side of the taping unit l2. The unit I5 is similar in structure to the unit II, it being provided with a tubular member 12 through which the taped and tied core may advance, the tubularrmember 32 supporting a given number of cops or supplies 83 of cotton strand 24 adjacent the supply side of the unit It and being supported by a bracket".

Considering now the operation of the apparatus. let it be assumed that the units II and l5 are filled with a desired number 01 pads of tape and cops 01 strand material respectively. that the conductors oi which the core MI is to be formed have been threaded through the various units and secured to the takeup reel II, that the tape on the unit l2 has been threaded through the wrapping guide 25 and that the strand from the unit ll has been secured about the leading end of the tape. The apparatus is now in readiness for operation'which consists in energizing the power means (not shown) for driving the main shaft It at a given speed. During operation of the apparatus. the reel is rotated about its axis to advance the core longitudinally and the reel is rotated about the axis of the cradle, which is' also the axis '01 the core. Advancement of the core longitudinally will pull the tape from the pad 28 in the unit l2 about the guide rollers 43,

- rotating at the same speed as the cradle I! will rotate the wrapping guide 25 with the core. As the tape is advanced longitudinally through the wrapping guide, the tape is wrapped longitudinally about the core accurately guided by the wrapping guide so that its overlapping edges will remain at a given position on the core. The wrapping guide is of such length that it will control the tape while it is being wrapped lo'ngitudinally and maintain the tape in longitudinally wrapped position on the core to a position where the tape will be tied on the core by the strand .84, through the operation of the unit I4. The unit I rotates at a much faster rate of speed than the speed of rotation of the core, thus spirally winding the strand material 84 about the tape on the core immediately upon leaving the wrapping guide 25. In this manner, it is not possible for the tape to open after leaving the wrapping guide to expose the conductors of the core or to create irregularities in the tape covering on the core.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for applying tape longitudinally to cable core moving in a flxed path androtating about its own axis, the apparatus comprising a tape wrapping guide mounted coaxially with the cable path, means for mounting a pad of tape for rotation about the wrapping guide, means for guiding the tape from the pad to the wrapping guide, and means for rotating the pad mounting and the wrapping guide at the speed of rotation of a cable to be taped. 2. An apparatus for applying tape longitudinally to an axially moving rotating conductor which apparatus comprises a member having an aperture through which a conductor to be taped may'pass, means for supporting a pad of tape for rotation on a member concentrically with respect to the conductor, a tape wrappingguide mounted in the aperture and supported for rotation with the member for wrapping tape around the conductor with a substantial longitudinal seam, means for rotating the member substantially synchronously with the rotation of the conductor, and means for guiding tape withdrawn from the pad so that it moves substannally to a cable core moving longitudinally in 5 a given path and rotating about its own axis, the apparatus comprising a tape wrapping guide mounted coaxially with the cable path, means for mounting a supply pad of the tape for rotation about the axis, means 'for guiding the tape from the pad to the wrapping guide, means for rotating the pad mounting and-the wrapping guide at the speed of rotation of the cable core, and means to wrap a retaining strand about the tape covered core adjacent the exit end of the wrapping guide.

4 4. An apparatus for applying tape longitudinally to a cable core moving longitudinally in a' given path and rotating about its own axis. the apparatus comprising a taping unit to supply tape to the core, a tying unit to spirally serve a strand to the tape when formed on the core to tie the tape on the core, and a tape wrapping guide extending from a tape receiving position in the taping unit to a position adjacent the 5 point 01 serving of the strand to form the tape longitudinally about the core and hold the tape thus formed until it is tied on the core by the tying unit. a 5. An apparatus for applying tape longitudi- 3 nally to a cable core moving longitudinally in a given path and rotating about its own axis, the apparatus comprising 'a tubular member mounted for rotation coaxially of the cable path to support a pad of tape adjacent its'entrance end, a guide for the tape, means carried by the tubular member to support the guide for movement into and out of guiding position whereby pads 01 the tape may be successivelydisposed on the tubular member when the guide is moved 40 out of its guiding. position, a support for a pluiality of pads of tape'mounted coaxially oi the path of the core adjacent the entranceend oi the tubular member, and a tying unit including a tubular member to supportasupply oi strand material mounted for rotation coaxially oi the core path to spirally wind the strand material ,on the taped core adjacent the exit end of the tying unit.

6. An apparatus for applying tape longitudinally to a cable core moving longitudinally in a given path and rotating about its own axis,

'the apparatus comprising a tubular member mounted for rotation coaxially of the ca le path to support a pad of tape adjacent its ntrance end, a guide for the tape, means carried by the tubular member to support the guide for movement into and out of guiding positionwhereby pads of the tape may be successively disposed on the tubular member when the guide is moved out of its guiding position, a support'for a plurality of pads of tape'mounted coaxially of the path of the core adjacent the entrance end of the tubular member, a tying unit including a tubular member to support a supply of strand material mounted for rotation coaxially of the core path to spirally wind the strand material on the taped core adjacent the exit end of the tying unit, and a support for a plurality o1 strand supplies mounted coaxially of the path of the core adjacent the exit end of the tying unit.

HUGH FITCH. RANDALL GILLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 445,120 b Lispenard Jan. 20, 1891 445,598 McCahey Feb. 3, 1891 986,690 Clark Mar. 14, 1911 1,375,655 Heany Apr. 19, 1921 2,023,621 Stull Dec. 10, 1935 2,041,812 Bouget et a1 May 26, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,850 Austria July 25, 1905 120,975 Germany June 19, 1901 

